Chapter one

Overview and History

Data communication and computer network

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 Data communication and computer network
 Data communications refers to the transmission of the digital
data between two or more computers and a computer network
or data network is a telecommunications network that allows
computers to exchange data.
 Computer network is a system of interconnected computers
and computerized peripherals such as printers. This
interconnection among computers facilitates information
sharing among them. Computers may connect to each other by
either wired or wireless media. The best-known computer
network is the Internet.
Why we studying the computer network?
 Because the computer network is the basic communication
way to exchange information in all aspects.
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 Network Architecture
 Computer networks can be discriminated into various types
such as Client-Server, peer-to-peer or hybrid, depending upon
its architecture.
 There can be one or more systems acting as Server. Other
being Client, requests the Server to serve requests. Server
takes and processes request on behalf of Clients.
 Two systems can be connected Point-to-Point, or in back-to-
back fashion.
 They both reside at the same level and called peers.
 There can be hybrid network which involves network
architecture of both the above types.

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 Types of Computer Networks, Classification and
its Application
Computer networks are classified based on various factors. They
includes:
 Geographical span
 Inter-connectivity
 Administration
 Architecture
Geographical Span
 Geographically a network can be seen in one of the following categories:
 It may be spanned across your table, among Bluetooth enabled devices,
Ranging not more than few meters.
 It may be spanned across a whole building, including intermediate
devices to connect all floors.
 It may be spanned across a whole city.
 It may be spanned across multiple cities or provinces.
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 It may be one network covering whole world.
 Inter-Connectivity

 Components of a network can be connected to each other

differently in some fashion.
 By connectedness we mean either logically, physically, or both
ways.
 Every single device can be connected to every other device on
network, making the network mesh.
 All devices can be connected to a single medium but
geographically disconnected, created bus like structure.
 Each device is connected to its left and right peers only, creating
linear structure.
 All devices connected together with a single device, creating
star like structure.
 All devices connected arbitrarily using all previous ways to
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connect each other, resulting in a hybrid structure.
 Administration
 From an administrator’s point of view, a network can be private network which
belongs a single autonomous system and cannot be accessed outside its physical
or logical domain. A network can be public which is accessed by all.
Network Applications
 Computer systems and peripherals are connected to form a network. They
provide numerous advantages:
 Resource sharing such as printers and storage devices
 Exchange of information by means of e-Mails and FTP
 Information sharing by using Web or Internet
 Interaction with other users using dynamic web pages
 IP phones
 Video conferences
 Parallel computing
 Instant messaging
 Generally, networks are distinguished based on their geographical span. A
network can be as small as distance between your mobile phone and its Bluetooth
headphone and as large as the internet itself, covering the whole geographical 6
world
 Personal Area Network
 A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very
personal to a user. This may include Bluetooth enabled devices or
infra-red enabled devices. PAN has connectivity range up to 10
meters. PAN may include wireless computer keyboard and mouse,
Bluetooth enabled headphones, wireless printers and TV remotes.

Personal area network (PAN)

 For example, Piconet is Bluetooth-enabled Personal Area Network
which may contain up to 8 devices connected together in a master-
slave fashion.
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 Local Area Network
 A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under
single administrative system is generally termed as Local Area
Network (LAN). Usual, LAN covers an organization’ offices,
schools, colleges or universities.
 LAN provides a useful way of sharing the resources between end
users. The resources such as printers, file servers, scanners, and
internet are easily sharable among computers.

 LAN uses either Ethernet or Token-ring technology. Ethernet is

most widely employed LAN technology and uses Star topology,
while Token-ring is rarely seen. LAN can be wired, wireless, or
in both forms at once. 8
 Metropolitan Area Network
 The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) generally expands
throughout a city such as cable TV network. It can be in the form
of Ethernet, Token-ring, ATM, or Fiber Distributed Data Interface
(FDDI).
 Metro Ethernet is a service which is provided by ISPs. This service
enables its users to expand their Local Area Networks. For
example, MAN can help an organization to connect all of its
offices in a city.

 Backbone of MAN is high-capacity and high-speed fiber optics.

MAN works in between Local Area Network and Wide Area
Network. MAN provides uplink for LANs to WANs or internet.
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 Wide Area Network
 As the name suggests, the Wide Area Network (WAN) covers a
wide area which may span across provinces and even a whole
country.
 Generally, telecommunication networks are Wide Area Network.
These networks provide connectivity to MANs and LANs. Since
they are equipped with very high speed backbone, WANs use
very expensive network equipment.

 WAN may use advanced technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode

(ATM), Frame Relay, and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). WAN may
be managed by multiple administration. 10
 Internetwork

 A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the

internet. It is the largest network in existence on this planet.
 The internet hugely connects all WANs and it can have connection
to LANs and Home networks. Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite
and uses IP as its addressing protocol.
 Present day, Internet is widely implemented using IPv4. Because of
shortage of address spaces, it is gradually migrating from IPv4 to
IPv6. Internet enables its users to share and access enormous
amount of information worldwide. It uses WWW, FTP, email
services, audio and video streaming etc.
 At huge level, internet works on Client-Server model. Internet uses
very high speed backbone of fiber optics. To inter-connect various
continents, fibers are laid under sea known to us as submarine
communication cable.
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 Cont’…
Internet is serving many proposes and is
involved in many aspects of life. Some of
them are:
 Web sites
 E-mail
 Instant Messaging
 Blogging
 Social Media
 Marketing
 Networking
 Resource Sharing
 Audio and Video Streaming
 Let us go through various LAN technologies in brie
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 Ethernet
 Ethernet is a widely deployed LAN technology. This technology was invented
by Bob Metcalfe and D.R. Boggs in the year 1970. It was standardized in
IEEE 802.3 in 1980.
 Ethernet shares media. Network which uses shared media has high probability
of data collision.
 Ethernet uses Carrier Sense Multi Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
technology to detect collisions. On the occurrence of collision in Ethernet, all
its hosts roll back, wait for some random amount of time, and then re-transmit
the data.
 Ethernet connector is, network interface card equipped with 48-bits MAC
address. This helps other Ethernet devices to identify and communicate with
remote devices in Ethernet.
 Traditional Ethernet uses 10BASE-T specifications. The number 10 depicts
10MBPS speed, BASE stands for baseband, and T stands for Thick Ethernet.
 10BASE-T Ethernet provides transmission speed up to 10MBPS and uses
coaxial cable or Cat-5 twisted pair cable with RJ-5 connector.
 Ethernet follows star topology with segment length up to 100 meters. 13
 Internet security
 Interruption is a security threat in which availability of resources is
attacked. For example, a user is unable to access its web-server or the web-
server is hijacked.
 Integrity This type of threat includes any alteration or modification in the
original context of communication. The attacker intercepts and receives the
data sent by the sender and the attacker then either modifies or generates
false data and sends to the receiver. The receiver receives the data assuming
that it is being sent by the original Sender.
 Authenticity This threat occurs when an attacker or a security violator,
poses as a genuine person and accesses the resources or communicates with
other genuine users. No technique in the present world can provide 100%
security. But steps can be taken to secure data while it travels in unsecured
network or internet. The most widely used technique is Cryptography.

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 Cryptograph

Cryptography is a technique to encrypt the plain-text data which makes it

difficult to understand and interpret. There are several cryptographic algorithms
available present day as described below:
 Secret Key
 Public Key
 Message Digest
Secret Key Encryption
 Both sender and receiver have one secret key. This secret key is used to
encrypt the data at sender’s end. After the data is encrypted, it is sent on the
public domain to the receiver. Because the receiver knows and has the Secret
Key, the encrypted data packets can easily be decrypted.
Public Key Encryption
 In this encryption system, every user has its own Secret Key and it is not in the
shared domain. The secret key is never revealed on public domain. Along with
secret key, every user has its own but public key. Public key is always made
public and is used by Senders to encrypt the data. When the user receives the
encrypted data, he can easily decrypt it by using its own Secret Key. 15
 Cont’..
Message Digest
 In this method, actual data is not sent, instead a hash value is
calculated and sent. The other end user, computes its own hash
value and compares with the one just received. If both hash values
are matched, then it is accepted otherwise rejected.
 Physical layer provides its services to Data-link layer. Data-link
layer hands over frames to physical layer. Physical layer converts
them to electrical pulses, which represent binary data. The binary
data is then sent over the wired or wireless media. Data or
information can be stored in two ways, analog and digital. For a
computer to use the data, it must be in discrete digital form. Similar
to data, signals can also be in analog and digital form. To transmit
data digitally, it needs to be first converted to digital form.
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Hardware and software components of the computer network
and their operations

Repeater
Hub
Bridge
Switch
Router
Gateway
Network interface card (NIC)

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 Cont’…
A. Repeater is a physical layer device used to interconnect the media
segments of an extended network.
 The major function is receive signals form one network segment
and amplify, retime, and retransmit those signals to another
network segment. This process prevents signal deterioration caused
by long cable lengths and large number of connected devices.
 It is incapable of performing complex filtering and other traffic
processing.
 In addition, all electrical signals, including electrical disturbance
and other errors are repeated and amplified.
 It connect segments with different physical media such as UTP and
coaxial cable. But, it can’t connect different network architectures
such as Ethernet and Token ring

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 Cont’…
B. Hub:- A Hub is a physical layer device that connects multiple user
stations, each via a dedicated cable.
 Another name for hub is a concentrator.
 Hubs do not have any processing Power, it is just a box where you
plug cables, and works in half-duplex manner.
 Electrical interconnections are established inside the hub.
 Hubs are also used as a multiport repeater.
 They are cheap and are not intelligent. Physically similar to
switches and logically similar to repeaters.
 Active hubs regenerate a signal before forwarding it to all the ports
on the device and requires a power supply.
 Regeneration of the signal aside, the basic function of a hub is to
take data from one of the connected devices and forward it to all the
other ports on the hub.
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C. Bridges:- Bridges are data communication devices that operate at
layer 2, (data-link layer).
 They use to connect two LAN segments.
 They forward frames, but do not forward noise or collisions.
 Bridges learn addresses by using source address to learn the location of computers.
So they are intelligent devices. They understand frames.
 A bridge functions by blocking or forwarding data, based on the destination MAC
address written into each frame of data.
 If the destination MAC address is on a network other than that from which the data
was received, it can forward the data to the other networks to which it is connected.

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If the address is not on the other side of the bridge, the data is
blocked from passing. Today, network switches have largely replaced
bridges.
 A bridge is a Layer 2 device used to divide, or segment, a network.
A bridge is capable of collecting and selectively passing data
frames between two network segments. Bridges do this by learning
the MAC address of all devices on each connected segment. Using
this information, the bridge builds a bridging table and forwards or
blocks traffic based on that table. This results in smaller collision
domains and greater network efficiency. Bridges do NOT restrict
broadcast traffic.

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D. Switches:- Switches are communication devices operating at data-
link layer.
 They are physically similar to hubs, but logically similar to bridges.
 They operate on frames; understand addresses and only forward when
necessary.
 Switches are far more efficient than hubs and are far more desirable for
today’s network environments.
 They permit separate pairs of computers to communicate at the same time.
 Usually work in full-duplex and higher cost than hubs. A switch forwards
data only to the port on which the destination system is connected.
 It looks at the MAC addresses of the devices connected to it to determine
the correct port. By forwarding data only to the system to which the data is
addressed, the switch decreases the amount of traffic on each network link
dramatically.
 Switch acts like a hub, but unlike the hub, it examines the destination MAC
addresses of the packet to decide where the packet should be forwarded.

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 Cont’…
 Unlike routers that uses network address to make routing decisions, it
uses MAC addresses.
 Another name for switch is an intelligent hub.
 Ethernet networks used to be built using repeaters.
 When the performance of these networks began to suffer because too
many devices shared the same segment, network engineers added
bridges to create multiple collision domains.
 As networks grew in size and complexity, the bridge evolved into the
modern switch, allowing micro segmentation of the network.
 Today’s networks typically are built using switches and routers, often
with the routing and switching function in the same device.
 Ethernet is fundamentally a shared technology where all users on a
given LAN segment compete for the same available bandwidth.
 The introduction of hubs into a network resulted in more users
competing for the same bandwidth. Collisions are a by-product of23
E. Router:- Router is a processor that connects two networks and whose primary
function is to relay data form one network to the other on its route form the source
to the destination end system.
 Router is an intermediate system used to connect two networks they may or may
not be similar.
 The basic requirement for a router is that it must have at least two network
interfaces.
 If they are LAN interfaces, the router can manage and route the information
between two LAN segments.
 More commonly, a router is used to provide connectivity across wide area
networks.
 The router employs an internet protocol (IP) present in each router and each end
systems of the network. 3 addresses of the networks that are directly connected to
the local interfaces and network paths learned from neighboring routers.

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 Cont’…
 The router operates at layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI model.
 If they are LAN interfaces, the router can manage and route the
information between two LAN segments.
 More commonly, a router is used to provide connectivity across
wide area networks.
 The router employs an internet protocol (IP) present in each
router and each end systems of the network.
 The router operates at layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI model.
 A router is a Layer 3 device. Used to “route” traffic between
two or more Layer 3 networks.
 Routers make decisions based on groups of network addresses,
or classes, as opposed to individual Layer 2 MAC addresses.
 Routers use routing tables to record the Layer 25
F. Gateways:- Two dissimilar networks can be connected by means of a
gateway.
 For example, a mainframe can be connected and accessible to a PC
network by means of a gateway.
 Unlike routers, a gateway converts the format of data sent between two
networks.
 A router adds only addressing information to the data packet.
 A router that can route data from an IPX network to an IP network is,
technically, a gateway.
 But a gateway has to identify the protocols used in the networks, and
recognize the data format, and convert the message format into
suitable format to be accepted by the other network.
 WANs often use gateways because there are a large number of
dissimilar networks present in a WAN.
 Gateway provides good connectivity to different kinds of networks
on the Internet. They operate at the layers above the network layer
of the OSI model. 26
G. Network interface card (NIC):-NICs are installed in a
computer to allow it to communicate with a network. They
provide a transparent interface between the network and the
computer.
 The computer gives the NIC a message for another
networked device and the NIC formats that message for
transport over the media.
 Also, the NIC receives messages from the network and
reformats them so that the computer can understand.
 Every NIC card has a unique address burnt into the card;
which is a 6 byte address with two parts.
 The first group of numbers is unique for card manufacturers,
and the rest is assigned by the manufacturer. This physical
address is referred to as the MAC address. NICs operate at
the physical & data-link layer of the OSI model. 27
 Network topology
 A Network Topology is the arrangement with which computer systems
or network devices are connected to each other.
 Topologies may define both physical and logical aspect of the
network. Both logical and physical topologies could be same or
different in a same network.
Bus Topology
 In case of Bus topology, all devices share single communication line or
cable.
 Bus topology may have problem while multiple hosts sending data at
the same time.
 Therefore, Bus topology either uses CSMA/CD technology or
recognizes one host as Bus Master to solve the issue.
 It is one of the simple forms of networking where a failure of a device
does not affect the other devices. But failure of the shared
communication line can make all other devices stop functioning. 28
 Cont’…

Both ends of the shared channel have line terminator. The data is sent
in only one direction and as soon as it reaches the extreme end, the
terminator removes the data from the line.
Star Topology
All hosts in Star topology are connected to a central device, known as
hub device, using a point-to-point connection. That is, there exists a
point to point connection between hosts and hub. The hub device can
be any of the following:
 Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater
 Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge
 Layer-3 device such as router or gateway 29
As in Bus topology, hub acts as single point of failure. If hub fails,
connectivity of all hosts to all other hosts fails. Every
communication between hosts, takes place through only the hub.
Star topology is not expensive as to connect one more host, only one
cable is required and configuration is simple.
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 Ring Topology
 In ring topology, each host machine connects to exactly two other
machines, creating a circular network structure.
 When one host tries to communicate or send message to a host
which is not adjacent to it, the data travels through all intermediate
hosts.
 To connect one more host in the existing structure, the administrator
may need only one more extra cable.
 Failure of any host results in failure of the whole ring. Thus, every
connection in the ring is a point of failure. There are methods which
employ one more backup ring.

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 Mesh Topology
 In this type of topology, a host is connected to one or multiple hosts.
 This topology has hosts in point-to-point connection with every other
host or may also have hosts which are in point-to-point connection to
few hosts only.
 Hosts in Mesh topology also work as relay for other hosts which do
not have direct point-to-point links.
 Mesh technology comes into two types:

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 Tree Topology
 Also known as Hierarchical Topology, this is the most common form of network
topology in use presently.
 This topology imitates as extended Star topology and inherits properties of bus
topology.
 This topology divides the network in to multiple levels/layers of network. Mainly
in LANs, a network is bifurcated into three types of network devices.
 The lowermost is access-layer where computers are attached.
 The middle layer is known as distribution layer, which works as mediator
between upper layer and lower layer.
 The highest layer is known as core layer, and is central point of the network, i.e.
root of the tree from which all nodes fork. All neighboring hosts have point-to-
point connection between them.
 Similar to the Bus topology, if the root goes down, then the entire network suffers
even. Though it is not the single point of failure. Every connection serves as point
of failure, failing of which divides the network into unreachable segment.

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 Hybrid Topology
 A network structure whose design contains more than hybrid
topology.
 Hybrid topology inherits merits and demerits of all the
incorporating topologies. T
 he above picture represents an arbitrarily hybrid topology.
 The combining topologies may contain attributes of Star, Ring,
Bus, and Daisy-chain topologies.
 Most WANs are connected by means of Dual-Ring topology and
networks connected to them are mostly Star topology networks.
 Internet is the best example of largest Hybrid topology.

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 Network software
 The first computer networks were designed with the hardware
as the main concern and the software as an afterthought.
 This strategy no longer works.
 Network software is now highly structured depending on the
network architecture.
 Protocol is the main network software which used to guide the
network.
 Protocols works on session layer and above.
Protocols
 A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications.
– The purpose of network protocols
 A protocol defines what is communicated,
 How it is communicated, and when it is communicated.
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– The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics, and timing.
 Some popular protocols
TCP/IP
UDP
ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol )=network
diagnostic and error reporting protocol
SMTP
(DHCP) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
HTTP
FTP

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 OSI Model
 Open System Interconnect is an open standard for all
communication systems.
 OSI model is established by International Standard Organization
(ISO).
 This model has seven layers:

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 Cont’…
 Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the
application user. This layer encompasses protocols which directly interact with the
user.
 Presentation Layer: This layer defines how data in the native format of remote
host should be presented in the native format of host.
 Session Layer: This layer maintains sessions between remote hosts. For example,
once user/password authentication is done, the remote host maintains this session
for a while and does not ask for authentication again in that time span.
 Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for end-to-end delivery between hosts.
 Network Layer: This layer is responsible for address assignment and uniquely
addressing hosts in a network.
 Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data from and
onto the line. Link errors are detected at this layer.
 Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling wiring, power output,
pulse rate etc.

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 Internet (TCP/IP) Model
 Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite, also known as Internet suite.
 This defines Internet Model which contains four layered architecture.
 OSI Model is general communication model but Internet Model is
what the internet uses for all its communication.
 The internet is independent of its underlying network architecture so
is its Model.
 This model has the following layers:

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 Internet (TCP/IP) Model
 Application Layer: This layer defines the protocol which enables
user to interact with the network. For example, FTP, HTTP etc.
 Transport Layer: This layer defines how data should flow
between hosts. Major protocol at this layer is Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP). This layer ensures data delivered between
hosts is in-order and is responsible for end-to-end delivery.
 Internet Layer: Internet Protocol (IP) works on this layer. This
layer facilitates host addressing and recognition. This layer
defines routing.
 Link Layer: This layer provides mechanism of sending and
receiving actual data. Unlike its OSI Model counterpart, this layer
is independent of underlying network architecture and hardware.

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